High School Drama
by Symbolist
Summary: Can Sharpay steal back the spotlight when the fall musical comes around? Complete 7.1.06
1. Prima Donna

Disclaimer: I don't own High School Musical or its characters.

Author's Note: This is kind of a test with the characters… I felt like Sharpay and partly Ryan were the only decent characters in HSM so I'm writing mostly for Sharpay. I'll continue writing based on the response I get for this – it sounds superficial, I know, and I hate it when people say that, but the fact is I don't have the time right now to work on something no one's going to read. So please read and review and let me know if you would like to see more of this.

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High School Drama  
_Based on 'High School Musical'  
_**By Fiyero Oberon  
**Chapter One  
Prima Donna

"Oh one more thing, class! As you all know, the fall musical will be having auditions in just a week," Darbus said. "Last year's musical was a hit and I'm sure this year's will be great as well!" She winked at Troy and Gabriella, who turned and smiled at each other. Sharpay's upper lip curled delicately, her disgust very apparent.

One of the kids in the front, a girl with two blonde pigtails protruding from either side of her head, raised her hand. "Are freshman allowed to be in the musical?" she asked when Ms. Darbus acknowledged her.

"Freshmen are encouraged to audition," Darbus continued. "We love fresh faces and freshmen sure are fresh!" Ms. Darbus twittered at her own joke. "Are there any questions? Remember, ask a stupid question, get a stupid answer, and there are no such things as stupid questions!" Darbus had a pleasant smile plastered on her face, though just a glance at her shifting eyes would tell anyone that she had no idea what she just said.

Sharpay shot her hand in the air. "What's the musical?" she asked, not waiting for Ms. Darbus to call on her. "Because I've heard rumors about _Oklahoma_ and I must say that I –"

"_Oklahoma_, although a fine musical in its own right, is not the musical we will be performing this fall," Ms. Darbus said. "We'll be putting on _The Wizard of Oz_, Miss Evans. Any other questions?"

Sharpay looked quickly over at Ryan, who was cleaning out his ears with his pencil. "Ryan," she hissed. "Stop that. Did you hear her?"

"What?"

"Did you hear what she just said?"

"Who?"

"Darbus!" Sharpay could feel her own face heating to a brilliant scarlet. "_The Wizard of Oz._ They're doing _The Wizard of Oz_. How unfair is that?"

Ryan smiled. "I'd like to be the Scarecrow."

"Ryan! It's not fair because it is so typecast. I'm going to end up being that prissy Glinda fairy and _Gabriella is going to be Dorothy_."

"Do you think they'd let me be the Scarecrow?"

"No! Troy will be the Scarecrow. You'll end up as that Uncle Hickory or someone else who's ridiculously minor."

The bell rang – drama class was over. Sharpay flipped her hair over her shoulder, grabbed her books, and, wrapping her fingers around Ryan's arm, dragged her brother out of the classroom and towards the cafeteria. "Something's got to change," she said, a dark glint in her eye. "Something about this musical stinks… and it stinks like a pair of worn-out basketball shoes and an overchemicalled science lab."

"Is 'overchemicalled' a word?" Ryan asked.

"Oh, shut up."

Sharpay elbowed her way to the front of the lunch line and grabbed her tray, delicately loading it with a peach and a small salad bowl, placing the same food items on Ryan's tray. She wrinkled her nose as the hairnet lady offered her a scoop of the mysterious meat stew and she shook her flaxen tresses.

Ryan held out his tray to get some stew, but Sharpay quickly slapped his hand and he retracted his arm. "We don't eat meat," she said to the lunch lady, a snotty edge to her voice.

Sharpay grabbed two bottles of water and placed one on her own tray and one on Ryan's. He mumbled something under his breath and Sharpay turned around sharply. "What was that?"

"I said, 'When will I ever get to eat a real meal?'"

"When Dad comes back," she snapped. "Now take my tray upstairs, I need to talk to Bolton and Montez." She shoved her tray into Ryan's hands and he started up the steps toward the cafeteria balcony. Sharpay made her way toward the table where Troy and Gabriella were cuddling, feeding each other French fries in a most revolting way.

"Afternoon, Troy," Sharpay said, stopping at their table, "Gabriella." She nodded her head toward them.

Troy and Gabriella shared a look, then smiled at Sharpay. "Hi, Sharpay," Gabriella said.

Sharpay leaned on the table, drumming her violet nails on the plastic tabletop, glaring at each of them individually.

"Listen, I'm not going to waste my time telling you the story of my life, I'm going to cut right to the chase." Sharpay flipped her hair again, then glared Troy straight in the eye. "If you audition for this musical, it's going to spell disaster – and not just for you two. Got it?"

"Sharpay," Troy said, "can't we have a truce?" He extended his arm to shake her hand.

Sharpay looked at his greasy hand in disgust. "Troy Bolton, don't you ever raise yourself to the level of asking me to touch you again. Eat your French fries, kiss Miss Slutty Scientist over here, and avoid the stage." Tossing her hair, Sharpay turned to leave. Changing her mind, she turned around. "Do you know who Joel Grey is?"

"Isn't he that guy on Friends?"

Sharpay sneered. "If you don't know who Joel Grey is, you don't deserve to be involved with theatre. So get out of my life."

Sharpay walked away quickly, her crimson heels clacking violently on the hard cafeteria floor.

"There goes Miss Dramatica," she heard Kelsi say.

That hurt.

That really stung.

Sharpay slowly stopped, listening as Bolton and his gang laughed and chattered, making rude comments about her.

"Her dad left when she was six, and it's no wonder – she's so snotty!"

"I hope she 'breaks a leg.'"

"That skirt is so short… and she calls Gabriella a slut!"

But Sharpay rolled her eyes and continued up the cafeteria steps, trying hard to erase the wicked words from her mind.

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	2. Think of Me

Disclaimer: I don't own High School Musical or its characters.

Author's Note: Well, this got a better response then I ever expected. This story won't always be updated this frequently - I had a snow day today, so I got the chance to write some more. And just to let you know, although Troy and Gabriella will be together during this story, it's not written to focus on a Troyella relationship – I said clearly in my first author's note that the only characters who really interest me are Sharpay and Ryan, but of course Gabriella and Troy will be featured in this story. There are plenty of other Troyella fics out there, and I'm trying to break away from the stereotype - isn't that the whole point of HSM? Breaking out of the stereotype?

And to those of you who are catching the musical theatre references – I'm so glad that you are!

Oh, and one more thing – I try hard to keep all my characters in character and the things I have Troy and Gabriella say and do will very rarely be something I couldn't see them doing in the movie. How you perceive them changes based on whose point of view you're looking at – I mean, if you put yourself in Sharpay's situation, you would probably be really angry too.

Thanks again for all the reviews!

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High School Drama  
_Based on 'High School Musical'  
_**By Fiyero Oberon  
**Chapter Two  
Think of Me

Sharpay had selected her outfit very carefully – she knew that auditioning in an exact replica of the Dorothy costume would hurt her in the end, but she was determined to prove that she _was_ Dorothy and Gabriella was not. Red pumps were a must and she decided to wear the blue dress she wore when she sang "Bop to the Top," auditioning last year for the winter musical.

"This dress doesn't have the best of luck, though," she said to herself as she primped in the mirror – her hair was pulled into pigtails, a not-so-subtle nod to Dorothy's stereotypical farm girl hairstyle. She didn't care what Ryan wore, as long as he matched her.

The school was empty when Ryan and Sharpay got there. Their pianist, Vicky Adinkrah, was the only one inside, practicing her notes on the sleek piano that sat on stage. Sharpay stepped onto the stage without a word.

Walking to center stage, Sharpay stood with her hip popped out to the side. "Go."

Vicky played the opening chords and Sharpay began singing her audition song, an original piece she had written specifically for the audition. The piano moved on into the dance break and Sharpay let out a kick and twirled, her ruffled skirt whirling about.

"_And just remember_," she sang, "_that there's no one like you, there's no one like me, there's no one like him, there's no one like she, there's no one like us, there's no one like me_!" Sharpay hit the final note, threw her arms in the air, and beamed. Ryan stood up, clapping his hands wildly. Sharpay giggled and bobbed in and out of a tiny, diva curtsey. "Thank you, thank you. It comes naturally."

Sharpay stepped off the stage,nodding her head to make her pigtails bounce. Vicky followed Sharpay down the steps and they joined Ryan in the front row.

"You'll be Dorothy," Ryan said. "I swear you will."

"Right," Sharpay said. "And I also fly out to New York every night and perform in _Spamalot_."

Ryan looked at her, bewildered. "You _do_?"

"Oh, hello, Miss and Mr. Evans." Sharpay looked over her shoulder to see Darbus coming down the aisle, her elaborately colored dress fluttering around her. "You're here quite early."

"We were rehearsing," Sharpay snapped.

"I bet you were," Darbus insulted, a beaming smile plastered on her face as always. "Well, the rest of the cast will be here shortly and then the rehearsal process can begin!"

"Uh, Ms. Darbus?" said Ryan. "These are the auditions."

"Right. That's what I said."

"No, you said –"

"Ryan," Sharpay said, slapping her brother's arm. "Shut up."

"Sorry."

The other students finally started showing up after a few minutes of awkward silence. It was six o'clock and Darbus was still refusing to start auditions.

"We'll start when everyone is here," she stated.

"But anyone who isn't here is late, and shouldn't count," the blonde freshman girl argued.

"Miss Barnes, we will begin when I say we will begin!"

Troy and Gabriella hurried in the door at that moment – Gabriella's hair was back in two braids. Sharpay sniffed her disapproval. _At least I'm not so blatantly obvious about who I want to audition for._ She was forcing herself to ignore her scarlet shoes.

"Now we can begin," said Darbus. "First up… Luna Barnes."

The blonde freshman hurried up the steps. "Um… am I supposed to say something?"

Darbus let out an exaggerated sigh and sat down in the front row. "Yes, state your name, age, grade, and the part you will be auditioning for. And the title of the song you'll be singing."

Luna's face paled. "We're supposed to sing?"

Sharpay rolled her eyes. "Amateur," she muttered.

"I'm Luna Barnes, I'm thirteen, I'm a freshman… and I'm auditioning for Dorothy."

Sharpay snorted. Everyone knew that the only freshmen who had ever gotten the leads in the school musical were Sharpay and Ryan Evans – in the fall they had played Lucy and Charlie Brown in _You're A Good Man, Charlie Brown_, in the winter they had been Winifred and Dauntless in _Once Upon A Mattress_, and the spring musical was _Hello, Dolly._ Of course, Sharpay had been Dolly – and that was just her freshman year.

_Once Upon A Mattress_ wasn't the first time Sharpay and Ryan had played romanticinterests – the first time was when they were Cinderella and the Prince in their first grade production. At first they had been thoroughly disgusted – in their 6-year-old opinion, twins should _never_ love each other. But by now, they hardly cared anymore - they found ways to get around kissing each other.

The freshman had embarrassingly admitted that she didn't know she was supposed to sing, so Darbus had Kelsi play "Over the Rainbow." Luna screeched her way through the notes and acknowledged her scattered, half-hearted applause with an over-dramatic bow.

"Next, we have Anna Surleb."

Sharpay dozed off until she heard Darbus screech out, "Gabriella Montez!" Sharpay sat up instantly, watching as Gabriella walked slowly up the steps and handed Kelsi her music.

"I'm Gabriella Montez, I'm sixteen, I'm a junior, and I will be auditioning for Dorothy. I'll be singing 'Over the Rainbow.'"

"Very good," said Darbus, writing something down on her clipboard.

Kelsi played the first notes and Gabriella opened her mouth to sing: "_Somewhere over the rainbow, way up high… There's a land that I heard of, once in a lullaby…"_

Her voice was as annoyingly nasal as ever. She didn't use clear diction at all and stretched her voice in an ugly way to reach the high notes – but as she finished, the entire room burst into applause. Sharpay crossed her arms over her chest, pouting prettily.

"She's got it," she muttered.

"Yes, she certainly does!" Ryan said, joining the others in their ovation.

"Ryan!" Sharpay hissed. "Sit _down._" She pulled him back into his chair.

"Very good, very good," said Darbus, grinning as Gabriella took her music from Kelsi and sat back down. "And next we have… Sharpay Evans."

Sharpay stood and tossed her hair. Someone in the back of the auditorium booed, but she ignored him and stepped up on the stage. Ryan and Vicky followed her, Vicky sitting down at the piano and Ryan stepping backstage.

"I'm Sharpay Evans," she said, "and I'm seventeen. I'm a junior and I'll be playing Dorothy. I will sing 'There's No One Like Me' for you this evening." She winked at Darbus, who smirked, and stepped behind the curtain that Ryan was closing.

Taking a gulp of water from the bottle Ryan handed her, she gurgled it, did a quick exercise to warm herself up, and faced away from the audience.

Vicky began playing and Ryan opened the curtain. Sharpay whirled around to face the students and Darbus.

"_There's always been a dream,_" she sang, "_a dream that has become a scheme_–_and let me tell you… though we may wish to be far, far away, there's no like you, baby, and there's no one like me, hey, hey…_"

Sharpay sang through her song, did her little dance, and ended with a grander flourish than ever. The teens applauded properly, but Sharpay couldn't help but notice that it lacked the enthusiasm that Gabriella had received in her ovation.

"And next we have Ryan Evans…"

The rest of the auditions went as a blur to Sharpay – even the script readings were insignificant in her mind.

Something in the back of her mind just told her that Gabriella Montez was bound to be the little Kansan farm girl.

And Sharpay would be doomed to be the prissy Glinda fairy.

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	3. It's a Scandal! It's a Outrage!

Disclaimer: I don't own High School Musical or its characters.

Author's Note: Sorry this is considerably shorter… I normally have at least 1,000 words per chapter but this felt complete where it was, so here it is for you. Not the best content ever, I know, and I apologize. It should get better in the next chapter. Thanks again for all the reviews, you have no idea how much I appreciate them.

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High School Drama  
_Based on 'High School Musical'  
_**By Fiyero Oberon  
**Chapter Three  
It's a Scandal! It's a Outrage!

"Is this some kind of _joke_?"

Sharpay found herself repeating the words she had spoken last year at the posting of the winter musical cast list. The_ Oz_ cast list had just been posted and a small stampede had stormed their way to it after final period, lead by Sharpay and Ryan Evans.

And, of course, Sharpay was appalled.

"The _Witch_!" she screamed. "RYAN! I'm the _Witch_!"

"Hey, cool, I'm that copper guy."

"Tin Man?"

"Yeah, that."

"Oh, cool. But RYAN! Pay attention to the issue here! Gabriella is Dorothy and I'm the freaking Wicked Witch of the freaking West."

"Who's the Scarecrow?"

"Who cares?" Sharpay stormed out of the crowd, her eyes burning with hot tears. "Ryan… this is a disaster! Ever since that idiot Montez showed up, the entire school has gone downhill!"

Zeke picked that perfectly inopportune moment to come up to Sharpay. "Hey, Sharpay… I made some chocolate chips and I wanted you to be the first to try them… There's a special ingredient. Here." He handed Sharpay the cookie.

Sharpay took a bite and threw the cookie to the floor, choking. "I hate marshmallows," she snapped. Zeke's face fell and he hurried away, apologizing.

"Miss Evans?"

Darbus suddenly appeared out of the crowd, beaming. "Congratulations are your roles, Sharpay, Ryan," she said. Sharpay sniffed her disapproval. "Miss Evans, last I remember you have a dog, have you not?"

"Yes," Sharpay said, her voice weighing with suspicion. "A Bichon Frise, Bernadette."

"Bernadette?" Darbus asked, referring to the dog's strange name.

"After Bernadette Peters," Sharpay said, as though it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Right. Well, I was hoping we might be able to use Brunette –"

"Bernadette."

"Right, I was hoping we could use her for the dog in the show, Toto."

It would be a question, but Darbus whisked away right after finishing, assuming that Sharpay would naturally say yes. After all, they had used Bernadette for Sandy in _Annie_ several years ago.

"No!" Sharpay called after Darbus. "No! You can't use her!"

Darbus ignored her.

"MY DOG GOT A BETTER PART THAN I DID!" the blonde whined.

Sharpay stamped her foot. Ryan stamped his foot. Luna Barnes stamped her foot.

"Why are we stamping our feet?" Luna asked.

"Who'd you get?" Sharpay asked Luna.

Luna spoke quickly: "I'm a Munchkin and a Monkey and a person in the Emerald City and a –"

Sharpay cut her off with a "shut up" motion "We get it," she said curtly. "How can you be satisfied with a… a _chorus_ part?" she spat.

"I've never done a musical before," Luna said, her cheeks and nose flushing red with excitement. "I can't tell you how unbelievably thrilled I am!"

"Shut up." Sharpay stormed away, running down the hall.

Ryan hurried after her. "Sharpay? Sharpay!" She had gone into the makeup room behind the auditorium. Ryan burst into the room, his lavender hat falling off. Sharpay was sitting on one of the stools, her face in her hands, sobbing.

"It's not fair," she whimpered. "They're ruining any chance we'll ever get."

Ryan sat on a stool by his sister and hugged her awkwardly. "It's all right," he said. "It'll still be fun."

"But I'm the _Witch_."

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	4. Oh, What a Beautiful Mornin'

Disclaimer: I don't own High School Musical or its characters.

Author's Note: So here's the next chapter… please review as usual. (I'm getting close to breaking my personal record which, sadly, is only 49.)

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High School Drama  
_Based on 'High School Musical'  
_**By Fiyero Oberon  
**Chapter Four  
Oh, What A Beautiful Mornin'

She knew before she was even out of bed that the day was not going to be a good one.

The lime-green digital numbers of her alarm clock flashed 6:23 – she had already hit the snooze button twice and then lay in bed, still not wanting to wake up. The nightmare that had come with the cast list had not been a good one, and waking up and going back to sleep brought about fluffy dreams that involved ruby shoes and golden roads and bright, florescent cities made up of green and emerald and lime and jade shades.

Sharpay rolled out of bed and onto the floor, dragging her blanket and sheets with her. She stood, untangling herself, and left them on the floor for the housekeeper to pick up later.

Jumping into the shower, Sharpay let out a shrill scream as the ice-cold water attacked her bare back. And no matter how hard or how far she turned the hot water knob, the freezing temperature would not go away. The bitter water burned her scalp because it was so cold.

She had already worn all of her shoes once this month, so she had to start back at the beginning – and starting back at the beginning of her shoe collection was never an especially wonderful moment for Sharpay. She was forced to wear one of her pairs of plain, white tennis shoes. Furthermore, none of the clothes that she especially liked were clean, so she was reduced to wearing some obscure combination involving a lime shirt and multiple belts.

At breakfast, Ryan had taken the last of the Fruit Loops and Sharpay hated every other kind of cereal. The bagels wouldn't thaw themselves out and for some reason the toaster had decided to burn itself out and refused to heat up anything Sharpay put into it.

And to make matters worse, Sharpay had forgotten to lay out Ryan's clothes for him the previous night. So he was wearing a pair of jeans that she suspected had been bought in the third grade from their length and a shirt that Sharpay wasn't exactly sure of the color of because it was covered with stains in various shapes, colors, and sizes. And he didn't even have a hat.

"What good is a boy without a hat," Sharpay told him, but he just shrugged.

"I don't care what I look like," he said. "That's why you pick my clothes out."

"Right."

It wasn't until Sharpay had tripped her way up the school steps that she realized her socks didn't match – and it wasn't even that they were both white socks but one had little hearts at the top and the other had little stars. One was striped pink and orange and the other was solid black.

And she had two left shoes on too.

The water fountain broke and shot her in the eye, but worked fine when Ryan used it right after her.

She tripped at lunch. And it wasn't a little, "Oops, I stumbled," type thing. She tripped over someone's leg that had shot out just as she was walking past. She was sent sprawling to the floor and the contents of her tray emptied themselves on her chest and stomach. She had maintained her dignity, however, for the sake of Gabriella Montez and Troy Bolton, whose eyes were watching her every move.

The fortunate thing about being rich was that you could afford to leave a shirt or four in your locker at school, and that was just what Sharpay Evans did. So right after lunch, Sharpay got a pass out of English and changed to one of her locker shirts.

Sharpay passed Troy on the way back to class and she stopped him in the hall.

"Are you in the musical?" she asked, her eyes narrowed in suspicion.

"No," said Troy, smiling. "My family is going on a trip to New York the weekend of performances."

But Sharpay's mind had stopped at "New York."

"Are you seeing any shows in New York?"

Troy's brow furrowed in thought. "I'm not sure… not that I know of."

Sharpay let out an exaggerated, Miss Drama Queen, Prima Donna gasp. "You're going to New York and not seeing a Broadway show? That's… that's an _insult_!" She turned away, flipping her hair. "You disgust me, Troy Bolton," she spat over her shoulder as she walked back to class.

"See you later!" he called after her.

Sharpay failed her science class for the day because she was more concerned about her nails than her grades, and dissecting an assortment of bugs and animals was just not something she was interested in. She let Ryan do all the work and, although Professor Leo-Butz told her that she would receive an F for the day, she really didn't care.

She was just ready to go home, pull on some cute, flannel pajamas and crawl into her warm bed until the next morning.

Except that there was rehearsal scheduled right after school.

The cast was meeting in the drama classroom. Sharpay and Ryan made a point of sitting on one end of the couch and throwing their jackets and backpacks all over the rest of the sofa so no one else could sit beside them. Gabriella and Troy were sitting on the bright red loveseat, their hands entwined in each other's, and Zeke, Alexandra Heady, and three senior boys that Sharpay didn't know were sitting on the floor and folding chairs.

"Zeke?" Sharpay asked. "You're in here?"

He shrugged. "I thought I'd give it a try."

"Welcome," Darbus announced, entering the intricately-decorated classroom, "to the first rehearsal for this year's musical! I'm sure you all heard the announcement in final period, no? Well, for Miss Heady and Mr. Blake's sakes, I asked for only the leads to come to this rehearsal, so we don't overcrowd the drama room." She chuckled a bit and took a seat in a hideous floral, overstuffed chair.

"Um, Ms. Darbus?" said Sharpay. "I really don't think that it's necessary for non cast members to be at this rehearsal." She stared pointedly at Troy.

"Oh, Miss Evans," said Darbus, chuckling, "I don't think it's necessary. Mr. Bolton isn't going to hurt anything, are you, Troy?"

Troy smiled. "No, Ms. Darbus, of course not." Darbus giggled, obviously thinking that Troy was flirting with her.

"He makes me sick," Sharpay muttered into Ryan's ear. "The little golden boy, never doing anything wrong. I don't buy it."

"Does everyone know everyone?" Darbus asked. Everyone shook their heads. "All right then, we'll go around and have everyone introduce themselves. Say your name and part… and your favorite ice cream flavor!"

"Favorite ice cream flavor?" Sharpay repeated. "Why do we need to say that?"

"It makes it more fun," Darbus said with a nod. "Gabriella, why don't you start?" Sharpay gave out an angry huff.

"All right… well, my name is Gabriella Montez and I'm playing Dorothy and… I don't really know what my favorite ice cream is. Maybe chocolate?"

"Real original," Ryan coughed. Sharpay smirked.

"And, of course, Troy is not in the cast," Darbus said, "so, Zeke?"

"Um, hi, my name is Zeke Debbler… I'm playing the Lion and Zeke," said Zeke. "Oh, and my favorite ice cream is, um, I don't know, come back to me."

The first senior boy was Josh Brown and he was playing the Scarecrow and Hunk – the second was Anthony Hopkins and he was playing Uncle Henry and the Guard of the Emerald City – the third was Jim Blake, who was playing Professor Marvel and the Wizard. Alex Heady announced that she was playing Aunt Em and Glinda the Good Witch of the North.

"I'm Ryan Evans, I'm playing the Tin Man, I like cookies 'n' cream ice cream."

Sharpay stood up and flipped her hair over her shoulder. "Hello, everyone! I am Sharpay Evans and I will be playing the Wicked Witch of the West in this production as well as Miss Almira Gulch. In my opinion, the most fantabulous flavor of ice cream on this planet is strawberry cheesecake. Thank you." Sharpay bobbed quickly in and out of a curtsy and sat back down on the couch.

And a massive fart exploded from beneath her. The senior boys erupted into laughter and Troy chuckled as well. Gabriella was sent into fits of giggles and even Darbus let out a twitter. Sharpay burned pink and she slapped Ryan went he snickered.

Darbus managed composed herself: "And Mr. Debbler?"

"Yeah?" asked Zeke – he was as red in the face as Sharpay was.

"Ice cream?"

"Oh… uh… strawberry cheesecake."

Sharpay's eyes narrowed – Zeke had definitely just copied her choice of ice cream.

Darbus passed out bright green scripts to everyone. "Now, let's get this show on the road!" she said. "Please open to page 5, and Gabriella, you can start us off."

There was a shuffling of papers and a pause, then Gabriella spoke: "She isn't coming yet, Toto. Did she hurt you? She tried to, didn't she? Come on – we'll go tell Uncle Henry and Auntie Em. Come on, Toto."

It had definitely not been a good day.

Not at all.

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Please review! 


	5. Something Bad

Disclaimer: I don't own High School Musical or its characters.

Author's Note: Just wanted to say thanks – I broke 50 reviews, and my personal record. Thanks for so much response:-)

I also wanted to let you know that I did go through and change the chapter titles – they now all correspond with a song from a Broadway show. Points if you can name all the shows. :-P

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High School Drama  
_Based on 'High School Musical'  
_**By Fiyero Oberon  
**Chapter Five  
Something Bad

"We're off to see the Wizard, the Wonderful Wizard of Oooooooz!"

Sharpay sat in the back row of the auditorium, pouting firmly as Gabriella, Troy, Ryan, and Zeke skipped around the stage and up the aisle, each of them wearing a wide smile across their face.

Darbus, at the front of the auditorium, turned and called the quartet back in. "That was marvelous!" she told them. "Simply marvelous! Troy, I am so glad your trip got cancelled, you are simply incredible!" She winked at him and he grinned back at her.

Troy had come to rehearsal a few days ago with Gabriella with news that his family's trip to New York had been cancelled. Darbus kicked Josh Brown out of the show immediately and Troy was instantly assigned his position as the Scarecrow.

And to make matters worse, Kelsi and Darbus had decided to take liberties on the music. The traditional melodic "Off to See the Wizard" song had been turned into a four-part harmony sung by the famous quartet. "Over the Rainbow" was now a dance number for Gabriella, "The Merry Old Land of Oz" had become an enormous, twenty-minute-long musical number that involved pyrotechnics and flying harnesses that Sharpay suspected were not in the school's budget.

The only positive tidbit that had come out of tampering with the score of the show was that Sharpay had talked them into doing the "Jitterbug" number that had been cut from the original _Oz_ movie and she personally went through and altered it to feature the Witch heavily.

"Sharpay!" snapped Darbus. "You're up!"

Sharpay let out a sigh, grabbed her script, and headed up to the stage. Luna Barnes was already up there, crouched over in her Flying Monkey position.

Sharpay's lengthy rehearsal skirt jutted out from her hips, sweeping the floor with its inky folds. Zeke hurried over with an old broom and held it out for her – she snatched it away and wrapped her arm around it. "Are we going?" she asked Darbus.

"Go on," Darbus said, waving her hand; she was busy discussing costume issues with Gabriella.

Sharpay let out a wicked cackle. "So! You won't take warning, eh? All the worse for you, then." She turned to consult the crystal ball that was currently being represented by a basketball sitting in a bowl that rested on a small table. "I'll take care of you now instead of later. When I gain those slippers, my power will be the greatest in – Ms. Darbus are you even watching?"

"What? Oh, yes, dear, you're wonderful! Keep going!"

Sharpay was not pleased. She dropped the broom and ripped off her rehearsal skirt. Sitting down cross-legged on the floor, Sharpay sped through her lines, monotone and flat and dull as can be. Luna the Monkey just stood there, watching.

"We're done."

"All right, next scene!"

Sharpay let out a scream and stormed down the steps and up the aisle – Darbus didn't even _care._ All she was worried about was ensuring that Gabriella would have braids and Troy would be able to perform right and Gabriella would sing well and Troy would have just the right amount of straw and Gabriella this and Troy that.

How very _infuriating._

Sharpay sat down on the floor and burst into tears.

"You OK?"

Sharpay jumped at the sound of Zeke's voice. She wiped her eyes and sat up. "How long have you been there?"

"Not long." He lowered himself to the linoleum ground. "I know this is hard for you," he said. "Not being the lead and –"

"It's not even that!" Sharpay cried. "I don't even care about being Dorothy anymore. Darbus is just so focused on Montez and Bolton that she doesn't even care about the show. The Munchkins are all walking around their knees – do you know how absolutely retarded that looks? Ryan is up there doing the robot during his song and she's not even paying attention, just telling Gabriella that her braids should be behind her shoulders because it looks more 'farmgirl.' The music is being changed and that's illegal. And she's not concerned in the least about costumes, except, of course, for Gabriella's and Troy's. Ryan's getting a gray sweat suit that has little silver sequins glued to it. But Gabriella? A cute blue-and-white miniskirt, red chunks, and flowers woven in her hair."

"It'll all come together in the end," said Zeke. "Remember, there are no small parts, only small actors."

"What?"

"It's a theatre figure of speech."

"I know. But it has nothing to do with this."

"Oh. I don't know what it means. I just thought that some theatre quotes might help you feel better. 'What's in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet, but Juliet – Juliet is the sun and I am the east, the opposite of which is the West, of which Sharpay is the Witch."

Sharpay smiled.

"To be or not to be? Water, water, everywhere, and it's going to make Sharpay melt."

"Says the Lion."

"Want to go out for coffee sometime?"

Sharpay wrinkled her nose at Zeke's proposal. "Um, no."

Zeke's face fell. "Oh… okay… yeah, okay, that's fine."

Someone screamed from inside the auditorium; Sharpay and Zeke leaped up, running toward the doors. They were greetedby a roomof empty blackness.

"The switch!" Darbus shrieked from somewhere in the dark auditorium. "Where's the light switch?"

"I found it!"

"Well for goodness sakes, turn the lights on!"

"It's not working!"

"Ouch, that was my foot."

"Rehearsal is cancelled for tonight – be here tomorrow after school."

"Ouch, that was my – nevermind."

"Go home!"

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	6. No Good Deed

Disclaimer: I don't own High School Musical or its characters.

Author's Note: Not the best chapter ever... oh well, here it is. If you could please include the word rent in your review, it would be appreciated. I'm trying to see who reads the Author's Note and who doesn't... just a little stats thing I'm doing. Thanks so much. :-)

* * *

High School Drama  
_Based on 'High School Musical'  
_**By Fiyero Oberon  
**Chapter Six  
No Good Deed

Sharpay dropped the _Wicked_ CD into her stereo and pushed the forward button to the sixteenth track and pressed play. Idina Menzel's voice filled the room. "_FIYERO_!" She broke into a bewitching chant.

Sharpay turned the volume down severely and Velcro'd her rehearsal skirt into place. She wrapped an enormous beach towel around her shoulders and pulled a witch's hat onto her head. "Ryan? Are you coming?"

"Yeah! Just a sec!"

"Hurry _up_!"

Ryan came hurrying in. "Sorry, sorry, I was watching the _Spelling Bee_ video."

"Again?"

"What can I say, it's good!"

"The script is on the bed." Sharpay began pacing up and down, listening to the voice coming from the stereo, trying to get into character.

Ryan fingered his way through the script's pages. "What scene is it?"

"I don't know," she snapped. "Do the one with Dorothy where I torture the dog. Right before I melt."

"Okay. Um… okay, found it. You're first."

"Uh… what is it?"

"What a nice little dog."

"Oh right." Sharpay opened her closet and began digging for a broom. "What a nice little dog! And you, my dear. What an unexpected surprise! It's so kind of you to visit me in my… loneliness, is that right?"

"Yeah, loneliness."

"Okay, that's what I thought."

"What are you going to do with my dog?" Ryan read. He looked up. "Why do I have to read Dorothy's parts?" His voice was all high and whiny. Sharpay hated it when he got all annoyingly pouty like that.

But then, she was rather annoyingly pouty as well.

"All in good time, my pretty," said Sharpay, starting to get into character. "All in good time."

"_Sharpay!_" Ryan whined.

"What?" she snapped. The CD had changed songs and she hurried over to switch it to _Defying Gravity._ Ryan crossed his arms. "Fine, don't read it."

He grinned in triumph.

"_I hope you're happy!"_ Sharpay sang along with Kristin Chenoweth as Glinda on the CD. "_I hope you're happy now! I hope you're happy how you hurt my role forever; I hope you think you're clever!_" Naturally, Sharpay took certain liberties with the words of the song.

Ryan rolls his eyes. "Every time!" He picked up the script. "Oh, please give me back my dog!"

…

"Now, just because the rehearsal was sabotaged yesterday does not mean the show is coming to a close!" Darbus announced.

"Ms. Darbus, it was just a power failure," Kelsi said.

"Nonsense!" Darbus screeched. "It was _sabotaged_! And I suspect _someone_ in this _very room_ is _guilty_!"

Sharpay rolled her eyes – even for a drama teacher, Darbus was sometimes a bit over-the-top.

The entire room was filled with tension, and not just from Darbus's lecture; something not-so-pleasant had happened between Gabriella and Troy over the weekend, something that Sharpay had not yet managed to poke her nose into. Chad had suddenly decided to show up at rehearsals "to support Troy," although Sharpay had a suspicion that had something to do with the fact that Taylor was attending as well, "to give Gabriella some confidence." And to top it all off, Zeke was avoiding Sharpay, making everything all the more awkward.

Such drama is impossible to escape during high school musicals.

Sharpay had been weaving her way from person to person, begging questions about Troy and Gabriella from everyone but Kelsi, Zeke, Chad, Taylor, and the leading couple themselves – feeling around for any little, loose thread that could pull the entire cloth apart and push Sharpay into the spotlight.

Unfortunately, the loose thread was still tucked in, and Sharpay couldn't find it.

"Kelsi, let's run through Off to See the Wizard." Kelsi hurried up onto the stage, spreading her sheet music out on the piano. Gabriella, Zeke, Troy, Ryan, and Sharpay filed up the steps.

"Sharpay, you aren't in this song," said Darbus.

"Oh, I know, I just wanted to listen closer," she said.

Darbus rolled her eyes. "Very well then."

"Thanks, Ms. Darbus!" Sharpay giggled. "Snot," she muttered under her breath.

Sharpay listened carefully as the quartet sang their harmonies, but yelled at Kelsi to stop half-way through. "You were flat," she told Gabriella. "See that note there? Where you sing, '_If ever a whiz there was'? _That was flat. Play that for her, Kelsi." Kelsi played it. "See, on _whiz_ you need to be up just a little more and it'll be better." Stepping back, she smiled prettily. "Go on."

Kelsi played the opening chords. "_Oh, we're off to see the Wizard, the Wonderful Wizard of Oz_!"

"Stop! Troy, you went sharp that time."

"Sharpay, just stop," Troy said.

"I'm just trying to make it sound good. So bite me." Troy gnashed his teeth at her, sending the cast into fits of giggles. Sharpay turned on her heel, tossing her hair over her shoulder, and stomped down the stage steps and up the aisle to a seat in the back.

"No good deed goes unpunished," she muttered.

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	7. My Strongest Suit

Disclaimer: I don't own High School Musical or its characters.

Author's Note: Another kind of short one... please use the word heaven in your review if you've read this author's note. Thanks!

* * *

High School Drama  
_Based on 'High School Musical'  
_**By Fiyero Oberon  
**Chapter Seven  
My Strongest Suit

"The only problem with that was that Ryan, you had your back to the audience the whole time."

Once again, Sharpay found herself slouching in the back row of the auditorium. Gabriella stood on the stage in costume, minus a pair of glittering red shoes – the ruby slippers weren't complete yet. Ryan was wearing his silver sweatshirt and matching pants and had some gunky silver makeup wiped all over his face. Troy had arrived at rehearsal late and had not had time to change into costume yet.

When Sharpay saw the costume that Jessica, the costume designer, had expected her to wear, she insisted that she make her own. She immediately did away with the green makeup to avoid having both Evanses colored a random color, and had completely done the Wicked Witch of the West's stereotypical wardrobe – she was now a very _fashionable_ Witch. She dyed her "Bop to the Top" dress dark red, resulting in a purple color. She took Jessica's black witch hat and designed it with silver stars and bangles and found a pair of silver earrings, one a sun and one a moon. Black-and-white-stripes lined her stockings to match the false legs of the Witch of the East and she adorned her own feet with a pair of shimmering shoes in violet, similar to the red shoes of the Dorothy.

Sharpay was so devoted to her role now that she even came up with a back story for the Witches of Oz:

Shortly before the rise of the Wizard in Oz, four women came together and crafted five pairs of magical shoes – ruby, sapphire, emerald, amethyst, and rose quartz. The emerald pair was destroyed because it was the most powerful and, therefore, the most dangerous – because of the magic power in the emeralds, the Wizard eventually crafted an entire City from it. But for now, each sister took a pair. The ruby slippers were the second most powerful, after those of emerald, and the Sister of the East claimed them right away. The next most powerful, the violet amethyst shoes, went to the Sister of the South, then blue sapphire went to the Sister of the West, and the pink rose quartz went to the Sister of the North, Glinda. The Sister of the East soon began to abuse her shoes' power and became known as the Wicked Witch of the East – the Sister of the West was angry at getting one of the pairs of shoes with lesser magical properties and, after killing off her Sister in the South, took the amethyst shoes instead. Glinda took the sapphire and rose quartz shoes and transformed them into a long wand, which she created magic with instead of the shoes. And now with the Sister of the East dead, the Witch of the West was determined to get the most powerful remaining shoes.

Well, Sharpay thought it was clever.

But when she tried to explain it to Ryan, he got horribly confused. She shrugged it off. "It's just character development," she explained. "No one's going to know about it."

"But _Wicked_ says –"

"If I followed _Wicked_'s standards, I would be horribly pale in comparison, now wouldn't I? So I made my own story."

"Oh. Okay. Do I need to make a story for the Tin Man?"

"No!"

"Oh. Okay."

Sharpay had decided against trying to explain her back story to Darbus, because she knew that honestly Darbus couldn't care less.

But anyway. Sharpay's dress was hot. And she knew it.

"Ms. Darbus?"

Jessica came hurrying into the auditorium, her crimped blonde hair pulled back with a pencil sticking in it, a pen stuck behind her ear, and a clipboard clutched in her hands. "Ms. Darbus? Are you busy?"

Darbus sighed. "This is theatre! We don't interrupt theatre, Jessie! Do you mind if I call you 'Jessie'?"

"Well, it's a little perky…"

"What do you want?"

"The red glitter is gone," Jessica announced. "I was spraying the ruby slippers with it and I turned to wash my hands and it was gone. I've only got half of a shoe glittered."

"Well, buy a new bottle!"

"Ms. Darbus, that's not exactly in my budget."

"Oh, we can afford to buy thirty new basketballs for the basketball posse –"

"Team," Troy corrected.

"– but we can't afford an extra bottle of red glitter for the musical?" Darbus lamented. "Jessie, buy another bottle. I don't care if we break the budget!"

"But, Ms. Darbus –"

"Jessie!"

"Yes, ma'am." Jessica turned and hurried back out of the auditorium.

So the lights were "sabotaged."

And the glitter was "stolen."

Was someone trying to wreck the show?

Or was Darbus just being her usual self and over exaggerating every little thing that happened?

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	8. Your Fault

Disclaimer: I don't own High School Musical or its characters.

Author's Note: And here's the next chapter … a shocker! I'm sure _no one_ saw this coming. :-P

* * *

High School Drama  
_Based on 'High School Musical'  
_**By Fiyero Oberon  
**Chapter Eight  
You're Fault

Everyone was blaming Sharpay.

And she had no idea what was wrong.

When Sharpay and Ryan walked into rehearsal, the first rehearsal with lights, the spotlight swung straight from its position on Darbus to glare Sharpay right in the eye. Sharpay raised her arm, blocking the blinding light from her eyes as the students stormed up the aisle towards her.

"Why'd you do it, Sharpay?"

"It's not fair to any of us."

"You really _are_ the Wicked Witch of the West!"

"Drama queen!"

"It must be because she's blonde – she didn't think. She didn't think we'd figure it out."

"Just because you didn't get the role you wanted doesn't mean you have to ruin the show for all of us!"

"What's wrong with you?"

Sharpay looked around, bewildered. "I didn't do anything!" she cried. "What's going on?"

The crowd parted like the Red Sea, making way for Ms. Darbus as she made her way through the mass to Sharpay. "Sharpay Evans," Darbus snapped, "I demand to know where you put the shoes!"

"The shoes?"

Darbus rolled her eyes, throwing her hands in the air dramatically. "The _shoes_!" she insisted. "The only shoes featured in the show!"

Sharpay's eyebrows shot up. "The ruby slippers are gone?"

"Well aren't you the little detective," Darbus said, a sarcastic edge to her voice. "Now _where are they?_"

Sharpay snorted. "_I_ didn't take them! What would I want with a pair of tacky red heels?" Turning up her nose, Sharpay whirled on her heel and marched out of the auditorium, towards her dressing room. The buzzing swarm of students did not follow her, but Ryan and Ms. Darbus did.

"I don't understand, Sharpay," Darbus twittered, "why would you do this? I mean, sure, you didn't get the part you wanted but I mean… _really_? Is it _that_ big of a deal? Are you trying to get into character? The Witch wants the shoes… you want the role… so you take the shoes to get the role?"

"Ms. Darbus!" Sharpay shouted. Darbus opened her mouth to say something, then decided it would be better to not talk and let Sharpay speak. "I did _not_ take the shoes. I do not _want_ the shoes. I don't _care_ about being Dorothy. I'll be the star no matter _what_ role I'm in. I am _not_ trying to get into character, I do that well enough _thank you_. Now if you would please leave me alone while I prepare, it would be muchly appreciated. K? Thanks. Bye." And with that, Sharpay stormed into the room with the gold star with the name "Sharpay" written on it in swirling purple letters. Ryan hurried in after his sister.

Ryan began applauding as soon as he entered the room. "That was a wonderful performance, Sharpay!" he said, hands pumping enthusiastically. "You can go apologize now and explain that you were just kidding."

Sharpay began applying makeup. "I wasn't kidding, Ryan."

"No, seriously," he said, his applause fading. "Let's go."

Sharpay dug in her bag for her powder puff and, finding it, began puffing her face. "No, seriously," she repeated. "I was serious."

"Sharpay!" Ryan cried, flinging himself onto one of the matching sofas. "You're going to get us kicked out of the show!"

Sharpay smirked in the mirror. "They can't kick us out, Ryan," she explained. "We're _leads_. You can't kick _leads_ out of a show in the final week before performances! We're golden!"

Just then, Darbus came in.

"Sharpay Evans," she announced, "I'm kicking you out of the show."

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	9. Light My Candle

Disclaimer: I don't own High School Musical or its characters.

Author's Note: And here we come again... please review! Thanks!

* * *

High School Drama  
_Based on 'High School Musical'  
_**By Fiyero Oberon  
**Chapter Nine  
Light My Candle

Sharpay was sitting in the back of the auditorium, pouting.

Taylor had been asked to fill in for the Wicked Witch of the West.

_Taylor McKessie _was replacing Sharpay.

And Sharpay was not happy about it.

Onstage, Taylor attempted a cackle, which resulted in a small coughing fit. "So. You won't take warning, eh. All the worse for you, then. I'll take care of you now instead of later." A fishbowl had been flipped upside down and a black light bulb inside it glowed a brilliant purple. Taylor turned to her "crystal ball." "When I gain those ruby slippers, my powers will be the greatest in Oz."

Sharpay let out an exasperated sigh. Taylor had no emotion behind her words – she spoke her lines in such a monotone, non-Witchy way it made Sharpay sick.

The set was being changed to the Wizard's Throne room because Jim Blake had finally decided to show up. The "crystal ball" was rolled off stage and replaced with a giant head made of paper machete, green paint, and a pair of huge, rolling eyes. Two green posts were brought on and Sharpay knew that they were the special effects – fire balls would emerge from them and evaporate three feet in the air.

Gabriella, Troy, Ryan, and Zeke stood onstage, huddled together. Zeke whimpered. "Look at that, look at that!" he screamed, looking at the audience over his shoulder.

Darbus came rushing down the aisle. "I said project, Ezekiel, not scream,"

"What's the difference?" he asked. "And my name is Zeke, not Ezekiel."

"Make your regular voice louder," she said, "don't scream. Ryan, explain it to him please."

Ryan broke into the "projection speech" he and Sharpay had memorized in the third grade. After three minutes, Zeke knew the history of projecting, how to project, and why screaming was harmful to the voice.

"Very good," Darbus said. "Continue, please."

"I am Oz, the Great and Powerful!" Jim voice said, booming through the speakers as the mouth of the paper machete Head moved. "Who are you?" The quartet huddled closer together as Darbus had instructed. "Who are you?" the voice repeated. Fire balls emerged from the pillars and evaporated as planned.

"If you please," said Gabriella, stepping forward carefully in her regular, black shoes (the ruby slippers had not yet been found). "I am Dorothy… the Small and Meek. We've come to ask you –"

"Silence!" said Jim's voice. Fire balls flew out – but didn't evaporate. The flames continued to burn, getting higher and higher. An ear of the head caught on fire and Gabriella let out a scream, running offstage, followed by the three guys. Sharpay jumped up, rushing out of the theatre as set pieces caught on fire like dominos.

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	10. Ya Got Trouble

Disclaimer: I don't own High School Musical or its characters.

* * *

High School Drama  
_Based on 'High School Musical'  
_**By Fiyero Oberon  
**Chapter Ten  
Ya Got Trouble

Sharpay dropped her lunch tray and sat, emitting a loud sigh. No one at the table was talking, each one picking at his or her food delicately, waiting for someone else to start the conversation.

Everyone knew Sharpay was sabotaging _The Wizard of Oz._ Or, rather, everyone _thought_ Sharpay was sabotaging _The Wizard of Oz._ Even Darbus was refusing to speak to her and Ryan had stopped sticking up for her, though Sharpay knew that he knew that she was not the cause for the damage.

The fire had been put out before it could spread too far, but the Head that had taken two weeks to create now had to be rebuilt. A new pair of shoes had been bought and sprayed but had vanished again. The Tin Man's axe had found its way into a wall of Dorothy's house, three trees had been stripped of their paint, and someone had tampered with the flying apparatus, sending one flying Taylor as the Witch falling. Her wrist was sprained, but the doctor had promised Darbus that she would be able to perform.

And, naturally, everyone was blaming Sharpay.

Ryan was suddenly extremely introverted, at home and school and rehearsal. People were shunning him on behalf of Sharpay, who was genuinely upset it about it. She tried to encourage him, run his lines with him and give him pointers on choreography, but he was so down-in-the-dumps that it was hard to be around him.

Bernadette the Bichon Frise was now attending rehearsals and didn't seem to take too kindly to Gabriella and had bit her finger twice. Troy jokingly said that Sharpay had trained the dog to bite Gabriella, and people had taken it seriously. Whispered voices spoke of Sharpay in an electromagnetic room, shocking her dog every time it incorrectly bit a giant voodoo doll of Gabriella. Sharpay wondered if anyone actually knew what the word "electromagnetic" meant. Heck, Sharpay didn't even know what "electromagnetic" meant!

The basketball season was going on currently, but Zeke had already asked Sharpay more than once to come to his football games, only to be given a little smile that said "Aren't you cute in an immature way? Now evaporate tall person," and a hair flip as Sharpay walked away. She had to give him credit though – he didn't give up.

And here he came now, a baggie of cookies in his hand.

"Hey, Sharpay," he said. She gave him the "Aren't you cute in an immature way? Now evaporate tall person" smile. "I made you some cookies."

Sharpay took the baggie. "Thanks, Zeke."

Zeke's eyes got big. "You know my name?" He practically floated away, a gleeful grin on his face.

* * *

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	11. I Can Hear The Bells

Disclaimer: I don't own High School Musical or its characters.

Author's Note: I know no one in this category reads this, but I feel the need to put it here anyway. Sorry it's been so long, I was busy with my own high school musical (_Footloose,_ in which I played Willard, if anyone cares... there's a little reference to it in this chapter). So that's why it's been almost a month since an update. But I'm back and ready to get this thing finished!

* * *

High School Drama  
_Based on 'High School Musical'  
_**By Fiyero Oberon  
**Chapter Eleven  
I Can Hear The Bells

"Hey, Sharpay! Sharpay!" Sharpay looked up to see Luna Barnes making her way toward her locker. "Hey, I was wondering if you could give me some acting tips. I _so_ admire your work, you were absolutely brilliant in last year's fall musical! You were Ariel, right? In Footloose?"

"Yes."

"Can I ask you some stuff?"

"Listen, shortie, I'm really not in the mood. Make like the Phantom of the Opera and disappear mysteriously. Please."

Luna wrinkled her nose. "Please, Louise! You just had to say no. Dang. You'd think after all that, she'd at least be grateful…"

The musical had had another sabotage. _Another_ sabotage. This time someone had gotten a hold of a can of spray paint and attacked the Munchkinland set with the words "B. Ben Aaron J. H. Runs Slow." No one knew what it meant. Troy had suggested that it was an acronym for the name of the attacker, but as far as anyone could figure out, no one had a name quite that long.

Sharpay opened her locker and pressed the tacky yellow button to turn the stereo on. "–TRUTH THAT HE LEARNED, OR IN TIMES THAT HE CRIED, IN BRIDGES HE BURNED, OR THE WAY THAT SHE DIED!" The "RENT" soundtrack came blasting through the speakers, making more than one passerby jump.

"Loud enough, Sharpay?" Chad asked, popping out of nowhere and leaning against the lockers beside Sharpay's.

"Not quite," she said simply, "I can still hear your voice."

"Funny," Chad said, smirking. "Listen, I've got a deal for you. Zeke says that he knows who is attacking the play –"

"Musical."

"Huh?"

"It's a musical. A play has no music, it's all spoken dialogue. A musical has spoken dialogue and songs. An opera is fully music. The tricky part is when you come to the definition of an operetta, which some think is just another fancy name for a musical but actually –"

"Listen. Sharpay. I don't really care." Sharpay tossed her hair and Chad continued: "Zeke says that he knows who is attacking the _musical_ and if you'll go out on one date with him, he'll tell you who it is and how to expose them, you'll be back in the show, and everything will be hanky-panky, howdy-doo-dee, zip-a-dee-doo-dah again."

Sharpay's eyes narrowed. "What's in it for you?"

Chad grinned. "Zeke's convincing Taylor to go on a date with me."

Sharpay rolled her eyes. "How very typical."

"So? What do you say?"

"Tell him that when he tells me who's sabotaging the show, I'll go on a date with him."

Chad shakes his head, making his hair bounce. "He says he'll tell you after the date. He promises homemade cookies and made even a cake if you'll go."

It didn't seem very Zeke-like to bribe Sharpay to a date with information about the attacker _and_ cookies _and _cake. But who cares? Three ducks in one bullet… or something like that.

"All right, deal's on."

"Good. Friday night at eight, can you meet him at the Life Café?"

"Can do. Tell him I can't wait." She winked at Chad, who rolled his eyes in return. "Tootles, Chad-ee."

"Bye, Sharpay-ee."

* * *

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	12. I Should Tell You

Disclaimer: I don't own High School Musical or its characters.

Author's Note: FINALLY! A longer-ish chapter! This was much fun to write, and finally we start getting into a bit of Zekepay. So enjoy...

* * *

High School Drama  
_Based on 'High School Musical'  
_**By Fiyero Oberon  
**Chapter Twelve  
I Should Tell You

Sharpay crossed her legs, clearly unhappy with the present situation: she had been at the Life Café for nearly twenty minutes and Zeke hadn't shown up yet. _Another ten minutes,_ she told herself,_ and not a second more._

She was surprised at herself, really. Normally she would have walked out after a five minute wait, but somehow she was willing to wait a full half-hour for Zeke to show up. She figured it was because she was so anxious to find out who was behind the sabotages that she's willing to wait whatever time limit, as long as she gets herself back into that musical.

A waiter skates up to her on his flashy yellow rollerblades, the signature of the Life Café. Delilah's Diner down the street uses roller skates, but anyone would expect a 50's-themed diner to have the poodle-skirt waitresses in pink roller skates. "Are you ready to order yet, miss?" His words would have sounded polite if the teenaged waiter hadn't rolled his eyes and popped his bubble gum as he spoke.

"No," she said. The waiter, who Sharpay recognized as a sophomore from her school, let out an exaggerated sigh and asked her if she's going to take all day. "I'm waiting for someone," she explained but he just rolled his eyes again and skated away to refill a college girl's cappuccino.

Hardly had the waiter left than the knot of bells and whistles over the door let out a loud jingle as Zeke entered the small restaurant. He looked around for a moment, biting his lower lip, then his eyes landed on Sharpay and his face broke into a beaming smile. She gave a weak smile back – she never realized until now how his eyes completely lit up when focused on her, the way a spark suddenly appeared in them that isn't there when looking at anyone else.

Zeke slid into the chair across the round table from her. "Hey, Sharpay," he said. "Um, how are you?"

"I'm all right, how are you?" Her own words startle her – she's never heard such a tone of compassion mingling in her voice. She's never actually _felt_ for someone else. Not this much, anyway.

Oh sure, there had been that little thing for Troy. It was hardly there, of course, not even worthy of being called a crush. She was the Prep Queen of East High and it was only natural that she would go out with Troy. They had been nominated King and Queen of the Valentine's dance last year – partly because the cheerleaders threatened everyone into voting for Troy and partly because Sharpay threatened the cheerleaders into threatening everyone into voting for Sharpay. But even that little thing didn't feel so… _kind._

"I'm great. Here… I brought you some cookies." He handed her a little baggie. "Chocolate chip, no marshmallows."

Every time he saw her, he had cookies. Did he keep a giant jar in his room full of them? Or did he make another batch like every day? Somehow, from the way his eyes darted back and forth nervously, she knew that he made a new batch for her every day…

"Welcome to the Life Café," the waiter said, skating up beside them and making Sharpay jump. "My name's Adam, I'll be your server today, what can I get you?"

"I'll have a strawberries-and-cream frappuccino," Sharpay said, "and a bowl of vegetable soup in a bread bowl."

Zeke copied Sharpay's frappuccino order and asked for a cheese melt sandwich and bowl of tomato soup. The waiter scribbled it all on a piece of paper, told them he'd be right back with the drinks, and skated away.

"So," said Zeke, putting his elbows on the table and leaning forward, "what do you think of the show? I mean, I know it's a kind of sensitive topic, but do you think it'll be OK in the end?"

Sharpay sniffed disapprovingly. "It's all right. It would've been better if _Gabriella_ hadn't –" She cut herself off when she noticed Zeke laughing. "What?"

"Do you like _anything_ she does?"

"No." Adam came skating back and gave them each a small glass of water and their frappuccinos. "The set's good though, and some of the costumes are nice… but it's absolutely ridiculous what they've got you and Ryan in! I mean, come on, East High is known for the fantabulous quality of our musical sets and costumes and such… so why are we using sweatpants and tennis shoes?"

Zeke grinned. "I know what you mean. Darbus is a little bizarre."

Sharpay smirked and took a sip from her frappuccino. "'Bizarre' would be an understatement."

"How do you think the singing is?"

"Besides Gabriella's screechy Over the Rainbow and Troy's hip-hop If I Only Had A Brain and Taylor McKessie's twisted Jitterbug, it's pretty good."

Zeke laughed as Adam skated over to their table and placed their meals in front of them. "Will you be needing anything else right now?" But before they could answer he had skated away to another table.

As Zeke started breaking crackers into his tomato soup and Sharpay took a delicate slurp of her own soup, they started talking about things other than the musical – it turned out they both shared a passion for New York City and Sharpay gushed for a while, explaining to Zeke the "awesomeness that is _Wicked_."

Zeke looked at his watch, long after they had both finished eating: "Oh crap. I've gotta go… my grandparents are coming from Ohio and… yeah…" He gave a weak smile and Sharpay returned it with a full one. "Thanks so much for coming out, Sharpay," he said, "this really has been one of the best times of my life."

Sharpay thought her heart had just melted.

"It was really fun," she said, smiling. "Oh yeah… Chad said that you knew who was attacking the musical and I was just wondering…" She trailed off; Zeke's face had fell, the happy smile replaced with a look of sadness and terror.

"…Chad said _what_?"

"He said… um…" But Zeke was letting out a long groan and Sharpay suddenly knew that Zeke didn't know who the attacker was.

"Chad… man, I'm going to kill you… Sharpay, I'm really, really sorry… I asked Chad to ask you out on a date, that's it… I didn't know he'd… I don't know who… I'm so sorry." He bit his lip, obviously very self-conscious now. "Is that the only reason you came? To find out who the attacker is?"

Sharpay felt her heart drop. "No! I mean, yes, but I had a great time… I'm so glad I came, even if you don't know who it is and –"

But Zeke still looked horribly disappointed. "It's okay, Sharpay. You don't need to lie to me." He hurried out of the Café without another word.

"Zeke!" Sharpay called, running out after him. "Zeke, wait!"

But Zeke was gone.

And Sharpay felt worse than she had ever felt in her life.

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Please review!


	13. The Point of No Return

Disclaimer: I don't own High School Musical or its characters.

Author's Note: This isn't a very good chapter… it's a rather cheap way of explaining who did it, but I'm just not really meant to write good resolutions to mysteries… but there will probably only be one or two more chapters to this… So please review!

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High School Drama  
_Based on 'High School Musical'  
_**By Fiyero Oberon  
**Chapter Thirteen  
The Point of No Return

Bernadette seemed to be more suited for the theatre life than even Sharpay was. She slept in the dressing room on a pink velvet pillow every night until it was time for performance, when Sharpay would come in and powder-puff the dog's little white face, clip on the long red leash, and lead the dog over to Gabriella.

And Sharpay could hardly contain the flush of wicked glee that washed over her as she caught sight of Gabriella, sitting on a stool, sobbing. Darbus, Troy, Taylor, and a host of Munchkins were fussing over her, patting her back and telling her it will be all right. Darbus was biting her lip in a worried manner, struggling to push off the Munchkins so she could talk to Gabriella.

"Go get ready!" Darbus finally snapped and the Munchkins, suddenly frightened at the horrible shade of purplish-red that now curtained Darbus' face, scattered. "Come, Gabriella, come to the dressing room."

Darbus lead Gabriella to the girl's dressing room and Taylor followed – Troy left in the opposite direction, headed for the boy's dressing room. Sharpay, eager to know what was going on, picked up Bernadette, clamped her hand around the dog's muzzle to keep her quiet, and followed Darbus, Taylor, and Gabriella.

The drama teacher and the two girls hardly noticed as Sharpay slipped into the dressing room behind them – they were too distracted by Gabriella. Sharpay's brow furrowed in confusion and she squinted, trying to get a look at why Gabriella was crying…

What looked like bright red Fruit Punch was soaking the blue-and-white checked dress that Gabriella was carrying – above the large stain was "B. Ben Aaron J. H. Runs Slow" written in purple permanent marker, the same words that had appeared on the Munchkinland set.

"Gabriella, it'll be OK," Taylor was saying, rubbing Gabriella's back.

"No it won't!" Gabriella sobbed. "It's almost to the point of being _dangerous_ out there – you saw what nearly happened to Alex last night!"

Final dress rehearsal had been a complete, total, and utter disaster. Alexandra Headey, as Glinda, had to run across the stage during a blackout because she had left her wand on the wrong side and needed it right away… A rope must have come loose or something like that because the Scarecrow's Field backdrop came pummeling to the ground and the pipe nearly hit Alex. Fortunately Ryan shouted a warning and she managed to dive out of the way, though the vast skirt of the pink Glinda dress was not in good condition.

Suddenly Troy burst into the dressing room.

"Bolton!" Darbus shrieked, whirling around. "This is a ladies' changing room, not a changing room for _boys_. Get out, go on, shoo!"

But Troy wasn't budging. His mouth was open, his eyes were wide, and he held out the pale blue shirt of his Scarecrow costume. "Look," he manages to say, though he sounds strangled. "B. Ben Aaron J. H. Runs Slow" was scrawled across the front of the shirt in green permanent marker. "I don't get it."

Suddenly a light went on in Sharpay's head.

"_You'd think after all that, she'd at least be grateful…"_

"_I so admire your work, you were absolutely brilliant in last year's fall musical!"_

"Let me see that shirt," Sharpay said and snatched the Scarecrow shirt from Troy's hands. Laying it out on the makeup counter, Sharpay grabbed a pen and a piece of paper and copied the words from the shirt onto the paper. She quickly began crossing out letters and rewriting them beneath the place where she had written until the top of the paper read:

B. on J. H. Rs ow

And the bottom read:

_Luna Barnes_

Troy, who was looking over her shoulder, said, "But what about the left over letters?"

"Maybe she added them to throw us off," Gabriella suggested.

"No," Sharpay said thoughtfully, "I don't think so."

She quickly began searching for a name out of the remaining letters.

John  
Jon  
Ron  
Rob  
Job  
Row  
Rosh  
Bosh  
Wosh  
Josh

"Josh!" Sharpay shrieked and quickly began crossing off letters again until underneath the name _Luna Barnes, _she had another name written:

_Josh Brown_

"Josh Brown and Luna Barnes are sabotaging the show!" Sharpay announced. "Come on, let's go find them!"

Darbus, Sharpay, Taylor, Troy, and Gabriella ran from the room in pursuit of Luna and Josh…

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Please review!


	14. No Matter What

Disclaimer: I don't own High School Musical or its characters.

Author's Note: So I think there will be one more chapter and an epilogue to this. The first person to review and list all the musical titles of the chapter song titles in order can have their name (or a name of their choosing, if they don't want their name revealed) in the last part of the story… so review!

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High School Drama  
_Based on 'High School Musical'  
_**By Fiyero Oberon  
**Chapter Fourteen  
No Matter What

"Luna Barnes!" Darbus trilled, thrusting her way into the general girls' dressing room. "You are in major trouble, little miss!"

Sharpay came charging through the doorway, tossing her mane of blonde hair, followed quickly by Taylor, Troy, and Gabriella. Luna, lounging on a couch in a silly pink Munchkin dress with a sunflower bonnet on her hair, looked up, eyebrows furrowed in an expression of confusion. "Can I help you, Ms. Darbus?" With a glance towards Taylor, Troy, and Gabriella, her eyebrows arched into an appearance of surprise. "Why aren't you guys dressed yet?"

"Maybe you should tell us," Gabriella said, throwing herself forward, tears glittering in her big eyes. "Why are you ruining our show? What did we do to you?"

Luna shifted slowly in her seat. "I… um… I think there must be some kind of a mistake…"

"No mistake, Miss Barnes," Darbus said, sticking her nose in the air. "I'm afraid your little joke has come to an end. We know the truth behind 'B. Ben Aaron J. H. Runs Slow' – a simple acronym for 'Luna Barnes' and 'Josh Brown!'" Darbus smiled triumphantly. "We've found you out, Miss Barnes, and I'm afraid I will have to expel you from my show and I will be filing a suspension with Principal Matsui.

Luna jumped up. "Suspension! But, I… I… I didn't do it! I mean… okay, I took the shoes, and kept taking them, but that's all I did! I didn't even… I didn't sabotage the set or anything, that wasn't me, I swear!"

Darbus crossed her arms, letting her sleeves billow in the breeze that the corner fan blew. "I don't believe you." Taylor and Troy looked just as unconvinced as Darbus and Gabriella was so near tears that Sharpay couldn't tell if she was telling the truth or not.

But Sharpay wasn't entirely convinced that Luna wasn't telling the truth – that is, as the gears in her mind clicked their way slowly through the past months' events, she came to a sudden conclusion: "Ms. Darbus, Luna's telling the truth."

Darbus sneered. "Prove it."

Sharpay looked quickly around the room. "Hey, you!" She pointed at a dark-haired girl. "How long has Luna been in here?"

"The whole time," the girl said.

"She couldn't have messed up Troy's shirt and Gabriella's dress if she's been in here the whole time."

"Maybe she's a part of the conspiracy!" Taylor said, narrowing her eyes toward the dark-haired freshman.

Sharpay rolled her eyes. "Don't be ridiculous." Sharpay began pacing, slowly. "But if Luna wasn't a part of all this… except for the shoes, obviously… then why does her name fit the acronym?"

There was a pause before Luna's eyes suddenly lit up: "Anna Surleb."

All eyes turned to Luna at the same moment. "Who?"

"Anna Surleb. She auditioned for the show but Darbus didn't cast her… I bet she was mad… We have science together, we're lab partners, and we always thought it was funny that if you rearranged the letters in my name you would get her name, and vice versa."

"But how do we know what they'll do next?" Troy asked. "We need to catch them in the act, or we probably can't prove it's them."

"They must have some sort of pattern," Sharpay said. "Let's see… they've attacked Jim's Wizard Head, the trees Anthony built were ruined, Taylor's harness was messed with, Gabriella and Troy's costumes were ruined… who's left?"

"Zeke," said Troy.

"And Ryan," Gabriella added.

"And Alex," said Taylor.

"No," Sharpay said, "Ryan's axe was thrown into the wall of the Alex's house in the show… they've both been attacked too… that means that Zeke… But what could they possibly do to Zeke!"

"I don't know," said Troy, "but I don't think we should wait around here to find out."

In a hurry, the cluster of students and Ms. Darbus rushed from the dressing room toward the lead boys' room.

There was a suddenly flurry of panic as they burst into the dressing room, where a redhead girl with a million freckles on her cheeks and Josh Brown sat, huddled over Zeke's Lion costume.

The girl held a purple permanent marker in her hand.

Josh had an empty paper cup in his hand.

A large, red splotch stained the Lion costume.

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Please review! 


	15. Finale

Disclaimer: I don't own High School Musical or its characters.

Author's Note: So this is the final chapter! Congratulations to **Cassandra Lee** for being the first to correctly name the musical titles which the chapter titles are songs from. For the record, to all those who asked, I am not a huge Phantom of the Opera fan… there are just more from those because those titles seemed to fit the chapters best. Without further adue, here is the final, concluding, ending, closing, finishing, last chapter of **High School Drama.**

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High School Drama  
_Based on 'High School Musical'  
_**By Fiyero Oberon  
**Chapter Fifteen  
Finale

"And I'm never going to leave here ever, ever again, because I love you all! And, oh, Auntie Em – there's no place like home!"

The heavy red curtain fell as the audience burst into applause. Gabriella and the other cast members quickly jumped off the house set, which was whisked away by the crew. They split off in their respective directions to get ready for the curtain call.

As the curtain rose again, the chorus girls and guys took their bows. Sharpay squeezed Zeke's hand. "Good job," she whispered to him.

"Thanks," he whispered back. "You were great too." Alex Heady went out onto the stage from the stage left in her flowing Glinda gown and Sharpay, dressed to the nines in her Wicked Witch costume, ran out from her position stage right to meet her. A cheer rose from the audience as Alex and Sharpay bowed together and stepped back to let Troy, Ryan, and Zeke run out for their group bow, followed shortly by Gabriella, sporting the new hip-hop Dorothy look: white T-shirt, blue mini-skirt, hair in braids, a blue cap borrowed from Ryan, and blue suspenders. The crowd screamed as she took her bow, and Sharpay couldn't suppress an eye roll.

After the cast bows, as Sharpay came offstage, Taylor McKessie came running up to her. "Listen, Sharpay," Taylor said, sounding kind of rushed, "I know we don't get along most of the time, but I just wanted to thank you for stepping back in as the Witch after they caught Anna and Josh. I don't know if you noticed, but I wasn't doing so well –"

"Oh, I noticed," Sharpay cut in. Seeing the hurt expression on Taylor's face, she tried to switch back quickly: "But it was no problem, really, I was more than glad to do it." Taylor, apparently forgotten of Sharpay's rude remark, smiled and hurried away to congratulate Gabriella.

"Hey," said Zeke, coming up to Sharpay.

"Hey there, tiger," she said.

"I'm a lion."

"Yeah, whatever," she said, and they both chuckled.

"I made you cookies for doing a good job," Zeke said, producing the familiar baggie of cookies.

"Zeke!" Sharpay said, taking the baggie. "You didn't even know I was going to be doing the show tonight."

"Yeah, I know, you're right… I made the cookies for you anyway, to apologize for the way I acted at the Life Café –"

"I should be the one apologizing," Sharpay gushed. "I didn't know that… I mean, Chad…"

"Sharpay," he said, smiling, "it's okay."

And before Sharpay could say a word of protest, Zeke had kissed her cheek and disappeared into the crowd of Munchkins and their families and friends.

"Oh, Miss Evans!" Darbus trilled, emerging from the crowd. "Here's your dog, Miss Montez asked me to return her to you." Bernadette was passed from Darbus's gripping claws into Sharpay's arms. "Thank you for stepping back into the show, Miss McKessie was… well… not at her best."

"Anytime," Sharpay said, smiling.

"Oh, and by the way, I spoke with Principal Matsui – Mr. Brown and Miss Surleb have both received suspensions. And, once again, I apologize for jumping to conclusions and –"

But Darbus was cut off as the crowd overtook her. Ryan came up to Sharpay and, without a word, gave her a big hug and hurried off with a girl Sharpay recognized as Cassandra Martin.

And Sharpay found that, for the first time in a long time, she felt satisfied.

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That's it folks! We have reached the end of **High School Drama**. It's definitely not the best piece I've ever written, but it's there and it's complete! Please review one last time and thank you for reading! 


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